Ever since Serena Williams’s outburst at the U.S. Open, I’ve been trying to process what this unfortunate incident means for tennis and society as a whole. Given the “perfect storm” of rude behavior lately, starting with Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie!” heckling of President Obama in the House chamber (for which he was thankfully formally reprimanded by his colleagues), and Kanye West’s boorishness at the MTV Video Music Awards, civility – or the lack thereof – has been the topic du jour. My good buddy Marco got tapped by his editors at USA Today to write a same-day piece earlier this week on that very subject. As usual, he knocked it out of the park.
Today, more specifically on the subject of Serena’s antics, another superlative local journalist – Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle – has written an acutely observant article. A word about Bruce. Apart from his sharing the same SoCal hometown as me, his reporting is one of the (dwindling) reasons why I keep subscribing to this paper, but it is incredibly sad that this veteran sportswriter was forced to cover Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year via television because of budget cutbacks at his paper. It would be a cliché to say that the Chronicle is bleeding red ink, with its imminent demise a much talked-about Bay Area issue, but for Bruce’s sake and that of his fellow loyal readers I hope the Hearst Corp. can somehow figure out a profitable business model soon.
Bruce’s article makes the point that the professional tennis establishment not only tolerates but actually relishes the vulgar behavior that its athletes (like McEnroe and Connors in previous decades) all-too-often exhibit because that drives up TV ratings. Just like I suppose people tune into NASCAR races to see a crash, Bruce bewails the fact that there aren’t enough tennis aficionados content with the purity of the game itself.
Well, count me as one of those aficionados who could do very well without a tennis pro losing it when she’s about to be legitimately beaten (by the refreshingly wholesome Kim Clijsters) and threatening a lineswoman in a profanity-laced tirade. Especially as I was watching the match with my 8 year-old son, who has recently started playing the game in earnest.
Collin absolutely loves sports and is as ardent a spectator as participant. Basketball is uppermost in his firmament (with Michael Jordan the archangel) but he’s equally happy hanging with his dad and watching Lance spin up Mont Ventoux, Tim strike out the side for the Giants or Roger dispatch another pretender with his one-handed backhand. He (rightly) has admired Serena for her game so he was as shocked as I was to see her lose it in that fashion. We talk a lot about sportsmanship and, believe me, at 8 years old it can be tough to hold it together after a difficult loss. So what’s he to make of it when Serena basically gets away scot-free with her behavior? I can preach humility and manners until I’m blue in the face but the television set doesn’t lie – there was Serena completely blowing off questions about remorse in her post-match press conference and there she was again the next day, playing with her sister in the doubles finals as if nothing had happened.
Now I know I can’t protect my son from the big bad world forever and he is already as sophisticated as most kids his age. For instance, when CBS replayed Serena’s courtside verbal barrage, they bleeped the profanities. Collin volunteered that she probably said the “F-word.” “You think?” I asked, feigning innocence. “Yes,” he continued. “That either means frick or fuck.” Amusing, but I’m less concerned about his burgeoning playground vocabulary than the reality that highly paid professionals (and, by definition, role models) feel entitled to their rude behavior by the lack of any meaningful disapprobation.
And that’s really it, isn’t it? The lack of consequences. I can threaten my son with taking his racquet away if he throws it, but now he knows that Serena can smash hers with impunity then grab another one from her bag.
So what are we to do? Well, I suppose we could vote with our remote control and boycott sports broadcasts that prove to be more spectacle than sporting. But that’s not likely to have much impact, especially, as Bruce Jenkins imagined, someone probably remarked to Serena later with approval: “Girl, you went off!” Which is a far cry from what the young boy in Chicago supposedly said to Shoeless Joe Jackson in the wake of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal: “Say it ain’t so, Joe.”
haul
[…]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine some unrelated data, nonetheless seriously really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular understand about Mid East has got much more problerms as well […]
Trackback by haul — February 23, 2020 @ 1:17 pm
best male stroker
[…]below you will uncover the link to some web-sites that we think you should visit[…]
Trackback by best male stroker — February 23, 2020 @ 1:25 pm
adam and eve toys
[…]one of our guests lately suggested the following website[…]
Trackback by adam and eve toys — February 23, 2020 @ 4:38 pm
книжки картонки купить
[…]Here is a superb Weblog You might Find Exciting that we Encourage You[…]
Trackback by книжки картонки купить — February 24, 2020 @ 12:58 am
domain authority
[…]please pay a visit to the web sites we follow, such as this one, as it represents our picks from the web[…]
Trackback by domain authority — February 24, 2020 @ 5:14 am
kiu
[…]below you will obtain the link to some internet sites that we assume you ought to visit[…]
Trackback by kiu — February 25, 2020 @ 1:33 am
porn online
[…]always a huge fan of linking to bloggers that I like but do not get a good deal of link enjoy from[…]
Trackback by porn online — February 26, 2020 @ 12:26 am
first anal toys
[…]Here are a few of the web sites we advise for our visitors[…]
Trackback by first anal toys — February 26, 2020 @ 2:31 am
remote underwear
[…]that would be the end of this write-up. Here you will discover some web pages that we believe youll enjoy, just click the hyperlinks over[…]
Trackback by remote underwear — February 26, 2020 @ 5:17 am
Loan App Email Address
[…]Here are a few of the internet sites we suggest for our visitors[…]
Trackback by Loan App Email Address — February 26, 2020 @ 1:09 pm
Koinonia
[…]although websites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we feel they may be essentially worth a go via, so possess a look[…]
Trackback by Koinonia — February 26, 2020 @ 1:24 pm
Husband
[…]here are some hyperlinks to internet sites that we link to since we think they are really worth visiting[…]
Trackback by Husband — February 26, 2020 @ 3:38 pm
silicone bunny vibrator
[…]Every the moment inside a although we opt for blogs that we read. Listed below are the most recent web-sites that we opt for […]
Trackback by silicone bunny vibrator — February 27, 2020 @ 2:18 am
top rated vibrator
[…]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]
Trackback by top rated vibrator — February 27, 2020 @ 3:51 am
cock ring
[…]Here are a few of the web sites we recommend for our visitors[…]
Trackback by cock ring — February 27, 2020 @ 12:58 pm
căn hộ hưng thịnh
[…]Sites of interest we have a link to[…]
Trackback by căn hộ hưng thịnh — February 27, 2020 @ 2:27 pm
kegels for women
[…]very few web-sites that take place to become in depth beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly properly really worth checking out[…]
Trackback by kegels for women — February 27, 2020 @ 4:58 pm
tour packages in phuket
[…]one of our visitors not long ago recommended the following website[…]
Trackback by tour packages in phuket — February 28, 2020 @ 6:55 am
personal loan in salem
[…]Here are some of the internet sites we recommend for our visitors[…]
Trackback by personal loan in salem — February 29, 2020 @ 1:01 am
digital marketing company in navi mumbai
[…]we like to honor quite a few other world wide web internet sites on the net, even if they arent linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]
Trackback by digital marketing company in navi mumbai — February 29, 2020 @ 1:32 pm
книги для малышей 3 года
[…]Here are several of the internet sites we advise for our visitors[…]
Trackback by книги для малышей 3 года — February 29, 2020 @ 3:37 pm
Ligonier Indiana
[…]one of our guests lately suggested the following website[…]
Trackback by Ligonier Indiana — March 1, 2020 @ 12:37 am
premium for mediclaim policy calculator india
[…]check below, are some totally unrelated web sites to ours, nevertheless, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[…]
Trackback by premium for mediclaim policy calculator india — March 2, 2020 @ 3:25 am
hightech sex toys
[…]The facts mentioned inside the article are a number of the top out there […]
Trackback by hightech sex toys — March 2, 2020 @ 12:44 pm
best male masturbator
[…]we came across a cool web page that you just may well enjoy. Take a appear should you want[…]
Trackback by best male masturbator — March 2, 2020 @ 3:24 pm
virtual visa card
[…]The data talked about in the write-up are a number of the most effective available […]
Trackback by virtual visa card — March 3, 2020 @ 3:07 pm
s Music Website for Mp3 download
[…]although sites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they’re actually really worth a go by way of, so have a look[…]
Trackback by s Music Website for Mp3 download — March 4, 2020 @ 3:01 am
visum indien
[…]here are some links to web sites that we link to for the reason that we believe they’re worth visiting[…]
Trackback by visum indien — March 4, 2020 @ 6:15 am
sex streaming
[…]just beneath, are many entirely not connected websites to ours, on the other hand, they are surely worth going over[…]
Trackback by sex streaming — March 4, 2020 @ 11:30 am
sexygirls shows
[…]check beneath, are some completely unrelated web sites to ours, on the other hand, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[…]
Trackback by sexygirls shows — March 4, 2020 @ 1:37 pm
dank vapes
[…]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you are new to this site[…]
Trackback by dank vapes — March 4, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
pl/sql visualization
[…]The facts mentioned within the write-up are several of the top accessible […]
Trackback by pl/sql visualization — March 5, 2020 @ 1:37 pm
Articles on self Improvement
Say it Ain’t So: Serena Williams and a Plea for Decorum « Akascribe
Trackback by Articles on self Improvement — March 24, 2020 @ 8:24 pm